Syros
Syros is the "pocket dimension" in which the adventures of the One of Many Faces often take place. The One has stated several times that this world "does not care" in regard to many questions the players have asked about retaining possessions or abilities tied to other worlds. As such, flying ships and bladed fans, which might be banned by some DMs, are accepted if not outright common here. Any character who perishes in this world may continue their adventures in another, recalling their demise as a dream if the player wishes. The biggest drawback is often the pay-off: while magnificent items and abilities may be granted here, raw coin is viewed as rather thrifty compared to that seen in other worlds, due to the One's peculiar money system. Creation by Separation The multiverse is always in motion. This is the assumption made when discussing the separation of what became the world of Syros. A millennium ago, a relatively small parcel of land usually situated among many other nations found itself alone. Where once was a mountain range marking the border to another country, there was now the capital city of a kingdom on another continent. A neighbor’s trade outpost became a centuries-old forest thousands of miles in the opposite direction. Cartographers and investigators set out and came to but one clearly observable but impossible conclusion: the lands had wrapped in on themselves. North bound to south, east to west, becoming its own separate sphere of existence. The world had become a whole lot smaller. The separation threw this fragment of a world into a dark age that lasted centuries. At first, mass hysteria at the impossible plunged most sane people into chaos. Critical trade partners had vanished, destroying the economy; the technology flow was reduced, lacking many of its contributors; armies lost allies in wars that suddenly turned against their favor. New wars sprung up between new neighbors whose wildly incompatible ideologies had once been separated by oceans; once isolated areas became shortcuts to repositioned destinations and spread the diseases that had been hiding within them; deserts met rainforests and collapses together in environmental disaster. These were only the practical effects; confusion was its own, and the worst enemy to a people cast afloat from their former shore. Civil unrest does not begin to cover the situation. No one answer was ever discovered in the centuries following the separation, nor the one following the rejoining. Just as cleanly as the land had detached from a much larger world, it reconnected again. Legend holds that an adventurous child seeking “the lost metal dominion” set off into the nearby mines, certain that a civilization named after metal would be found in the caverns veined with minerals. After wandering deep into the darkness, a light caught her attention. Though she could not be so near the surface, sure enough, a hole led up into the sunlight, and into a larger world. She emerged in “the lost metal dominion,” but when she looked back, the hole was gone. Distraught that she would never see her family again, she began to run around the surrounding area, searching for a way back. She never found a hole, but, oddly enough, she did run face-first into the wall of her house. Though this seems a ridiculous story told to entertain children just as foolish as the young adventurer, it holds a truth known to the few who have studied the phenomenon: the way to and from the world of Syros is simply to desire an otherworldly location and head for it as surely as if it were just across the street. Since then, ships have sailed from crimson islands and into Syros’s oceans, and travelers have walked from frozen wastes to Syros’s arid canyons. That said, more people leave Syros than arrive in it; few people in the other worlds entertain the thought of its existence, let alone the method of travel. As was determined following the reconnection, barely a century passed in other worlds during Syros’s missing millennium, and the lands that comprise this small, separate world seem to have been collectively and instantaneously forgotten. To this day, no one knows why. During this last century, Syros has been adjusting to rediscovering its neighbors. The technologies are much the same, given the collapse of progress that made up most of their millennium to the other worlds’ century. The economy has strained as it has been yet again introduced to the commerce system common to so many of its former and again neighbors. The more industrious nations have taken to assimilating their peoples to many of the other worlds’ ways, believing that creating relatability between this world and those will assist Syros in building positive relations with them and encourage the eventual acceptance of Syros as more than a crazy story a handful of conspirators began spreading in recent years. Current Political Entities The Marble Empire Named for its capital, Marble, this empire rests against the border of the Kingdom of Tac. Relations are strained, as evidenced by the parts nearest the border; though the empire has been in financial decline for some time, its road coming from the border to the capital and the roads leading off from this are all ludicrously broad and well-maintained. The towns are a different story, however, evidence of the taxes that are required to keep up these excessive roads. The Arcanists reside within the empire. The Kingdom of Tac Once a supposed theocracy under a long-defunct god, this kingdom neighbors the Marble Empire. A border toll gate for vehicles that require a paved road to travel displays the lack of warmth the kingdom has for the empire. Having been expanding for the past three decades, the kingdom is also at odds with Kantego, a close city-state that resists any attempt to join it to the kingdom. The kingdom faces passive hostility within itself as well; its most important cities all vie to seize power from the capital, Tactun. One city, recently rechristened "Highway" due to its control over the roads (and toll gates), has grown in size and power to be the largest city in the kingdom. Caster, the main port on the Cauldron Sea, has subtly usurped most of the diplomatic power. The king, descended from the supposed demigod daughter of Tac, is not present to protect his standing; he is off waging war for what many assume is sport. His regent, the governor of Tactun and Duke of Tac, has recently turned over the throne to another regent who seems to be useless to the kingdom and outright harmful to the capital. The Fates reside within the kingdom. Kantego This independent city-state is an island in the Cauldron Sea. It is highly mercantile, given the exorbitant prices other lands are willing to pay for the fruits that will only grow in its soil. Though small, its sharp business sense is what maintains its independence; any time another entity, such as the Kingdom of Tac, attempts to put it at a disadvantage, the city-state reminds it of its own commercial disadvantage and what would happen if Kantego were crossed. Perhaps the most vicious merchant, then, is the queen, for she deals not with shipments of fruit but with the city-states entire economy. The next queen (for Kantego's rule is a matriarchy) is already known to be just as cold in business as her mother, for she was groomed for the position since childhood. The Disciples reside here. Trivia * One thing Syros does care about is abusing its status as a pocket dimension. Once cannot use it as a "shortcut" to another place (e.g., one cannot cross into it from Grotto in Dremida and back out into Tirithell in Dremida in order to reach Tirithell quicker). It is presumed to be the work of the gods that prevents this from happening. * Some cultures have very specific naming conventions. For example, a dwarf's familiar name does not end in a vowel, and the formal name is a mineral with some connection to the family (though this connection is often forgotten over the generations). Similarly, the formal name of a maenad must in some way be derived from Dionysus or Bacchus. * While most species of monstrous humanoids do not possess souls, this does not exclude them from emotions or personalities. A soul's largest purpose is to connect one to the gods, allowing for such things as afterlives and divine magic. As such, a sufficiently leveled and intelligent banderlog, for example, could be a wizard/sorcerer, but a banderlog ranger would be unable to cast ranger spells. They would be able to be bitter about this. Category:Worlds Category:ManyFacedOne